Beverage Distribution: Why Your SKU Count is Crushing Productivity

The article discusses how beverage distributors are struggling with logistics as they expand from hundreds to thousands of SKUs. This increase in SKU count is creating logistical nightmares, with pick paths extending and causing delays in truck departures. Zac Boehm, Chief Automation Officer at Hy-Tek Intralogistics, explains two automation systems aimed at tackling these issues: Hy-Sync and Hy-Flow.

Hy-Sync focuses on automating the retrieval of the slowest-moving SKUs (60-70% of total SKU count but just 10% of volume) to a single pick location. This consolidation aims to significantly improve pick speeds, potentially doubling or tripling them during peak seasons.

Hy-Flow takes a broader approach, automating the full flow within a facility, similar to a vending machine that handles product arrival, storage, and dispensing on demand. This system aims to reduce labor turnover, which contributes to high productivity drag due to excessive walking and repetitive tasks. The cost of high turnover rates, ranging from 80% to 100%, extends beyond hiring to include marketing, training, and onboarding new workers.

Both systems aim to keep existing employees by making their jobs more efficient and eliminating excessive walking and repetitive equipment mounting. Prospective customers can test these innovative solutions at Hy-Tek's 20,000-square-foot innovation lab in Erlanger, Kentucky.